Mum started a very intricate tablecloth for me but she never had the opportunity to complete it. I inherited it and always intended to finish it; I had all the crochet cotton I needed, as well as her pattern and crochet hook. It sat in one of my bins for many years.

Eventually I dug it out and tried to pick up the pattern where Mum left off but I had no success. The crochet hook was so small and, although I understood the pattern, making it work was difficult. My tension was so far off Mum’s that I knew my blocks would never align with hers so, again, I set it aside.

About 18 months ago I decided to take Mum’s work apart and start over. Taking the project apart wasn’t easy but I was able to get a lot of cotton yarn from it. In some cases I was able to preserve some of the original blocks. I went with a simple granny square pattern with a large central square and smaller squares around the edges to get the size I wanted.

My intention was always to add those few preserved blocks of Mum’s to the piece. When I had the size I wanted to cover our table I added Mum’s blocks to the corners and the sides. I thought they would look good just dangling around the edges. I was wrong – so I added another round of my own blocks intermingled with Mum’s.

Although the tablecloth isn’t as square as it should be I’m happy with the outcome. From the pictures you will be able to tell which were Mum’s squares and which ones I added. The colour in the full photos is off; the colour is more accurate in the close-ups.